Sit Investment Associates Inc. Sells 30,656 Shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) by 61.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,372 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 30,656 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in General Dynamics were worth $5,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GD. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of General Dynamics in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of General Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Dynamics during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in General Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 86.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GD. BTIG Research downgraded General Dynamics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W cut shares of General Dynamics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on General Dynamics from $337.00 to $281.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on General Dynamics from $307.00 to $284.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of General Dynamics from $244.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at General Dynamics

In other news, Director Laura J. Schumacher sold 1,796 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.68, for a total transaction of $459,201.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,224. The trade was a 13.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Marguerite Amy Gilliland sold 27,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.11, for a total value of $7,499,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,297,195.12. This represents a 37.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

General Dynamics Price Performance

NYSE GD opened at $249.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.43. General Dynamics Co. has a 1-year low of $239.87 and a 1-year high of $316.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $258.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.54.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.14). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 17.10%. On average, equities analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. This is a positive change from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s payout ratio is 43.99%.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services.